A law student who took speeding penalty points for her private hire driver husband avoids jail

Addison Lee driver claimed his wife was driving his vehicle to avoid speeding points, but minicab company confirmed to police he was at work driving vehicle

Today, 15th December, Shazad Naz, 38, and his wife Nabeela Khan, 37, were lucky to escape prison after they both defrauded the police by lying over a speeding ticket.

Shazad Naz, an Addison Lee private hire driver was driving at 40mph through a 30mph zone in his Addison Lee vehicle when he was caught by a speed camera near London’s Tower Hill as he took his fare from Covent Garden to Ilford, east London, in the early hours of September 1, 2012.

In October, 2012, the police received a form back from Naz stating that his wife was driving the vehicle at the time which resulted in Khan’s licence being endorsed and her paying a fine in February 2013.

Naz and Khan both denied perverting the course of justice with his wife claiming she took the blame for speeding due to an error. Khan, a law student whose career now hangs in the balance said in a statement she had been doing her accounts when the speeding notice came to her.

Khan said ‘she had made an honest mistake as she used his minicab to drive around as it was more comfortable than hers.’

But following a tip-off prosecutor Dickon Reid said: ‘The police later obtained information from Addison Lee confirming it was Mr Naz who was at work.

Although the couple claimed they made an honest mistake, jurors at the Old Bailey convicted them both of perverting the course of justice.

The judge, Mr Recorder Caplan QC, gave the couple suspended prison sentences after accepting it was a ‘spontaneous act’.

He said: ‘I am sure you never expected to find yourselves on trial in court one at the Old Bailey when you completed the forms in connection with the speeding offence.

‘Quite why you both decided on taking that course when Mr Naz had only three points on his licence remains a mystery.

‘Offences of this kind are rightly regarded as very serious as they undermine the interests of justice.’

The judge told Khan: ‘You have studied hard for a legal career and it is a tragedy this will prevent you, at least for a while, from pursuing that career of your choice.’

Naz was sentenced to eight months suspended for 18 months and Khan to six months suspended for 18 months.

The judge also ordered Naz to pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs at a rate of £50 a month.

The question remains considering the convictions if Naz is a ‘fit and proper’ person to be continuing in the trade?

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LicensedTransportUncovered.com is a consumer group specialising in passenger transport issues, specifically taxis, minicabs, private hire and chauffeur services.
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